Use case · Logistics and freight forwarding
Shipment tracking with Bluetooth® beacons and sensors
The transformation of the global economy has not only triggered a boom in online retail and growing demand for delivery services, but has also brought major challenges. To remain competitive and profitable, delivery companies must look for innovative and efficient solutions. Wireless Bluetooth® technology combined with process monitoring and automation opens up new horizons in vehicle telematics and makes a significant difference.
Image: Teltonika Telematics
The challenge
Changing customer preferences, time pressure, unstable market prices, managing customer expectations, improper handling of shipments and optimising logistics routes are the biggest challenges that delivery and courier companies face every day. On top of that, according to the BSI and TT Club cargo report, the largest share of all cargo thefts in 2020 – 71% – involved cargo in transit. Losses from warehouses and other storage facilities rose to 25%.
To meet market demand, hold its own, keep customers informed and optimise running costs, a modern logistics company must track and manage not only its vehicle fleet but also the goods being transported – parcels, packets, pallets, boxes, live animals, food, pharmaceuticals, etc.
That is why detecting proximity in order to identify lost and found events or monitor loading and unloading processes is becoming an indispensable procedure in the freight delivery business. It is equally important to monitor the route, track the delivery time and record the last known location of the goods. This optimises the delivery process and significantly reduces operating costs.
In addition, those responsible for the fleet must keep an eye on the condition of the goods during transport to ensure timely delivery to the right destination – in particular critical parameters such as cargo temperature, humidity and even shock detection. All this data and these events must be recorded, stored and immediately transmitted to the way4net Portal if transport conditions are breached, a parcel is lost or delivered to the wrong address.
However, there is a major technical hurdle: GPS signals inside buildings or in narrow streets are often not accurate enough to be of practical use, as they are weakened and scattered by surrounding structures such as roofs and walls. In addition, the positioning error of some GPS chips can be larger than the indoor space itself. The good news: these challenges can be effectively solved with wireless Bluetooth® technology, the new Teltonika EYE Beacons and/or EYE sensors, and GPS vehicle trackers.
The solution
All Teltonika GPS trackers based on the FMB platform support wireless Bluetooth® 4.X LE connectivity and can therefore communicate effectively with Bluetooth® devices such as beacons and sensors. The tracker is installed and configured in the vehicle as usual – in a position where the Bluetooth® antenna is not shielded by large metal parts nearby.
If it is sufficient to monitor only the location of the parcels to be delivered, the combination of vehicle tracker and beacons is recommended. If, on the other hand, additional cargo data such as temperature, humidity, magnet detection and movement are required in addition to the location, vehicle trackers should be used together with EYE sensors.
How it works – the Teltonika FMB140 vehicle tracker serves as an example here. The small and light EYE Beacon or EYE Sensor is attached to every delivery item to be tracked and monitored – parcel, packet, box, pallet, etc. As each EYE Beacon and EYE Sensor transmits a unique ID number by radio at configurable intervals, the GPS trackers can read and identify them and send this data as an iBeacon or Eddystone profile together with their GNSS position data to the way4net Portal for evaluation.
The way4net Portal determines and displays the location of all beacons and/or sensors (i.e. of the tagged items) based on their proximity to the nearest tracker and helps with assigning the Bluetooth® LE accessories. This means delivery monitoring can be conveniently accessed via PC, laptop or smartphone – a significant gain in efficiency.
For maximum benefit, these devices offer two practical functions: “Proximity event” and “Filtering by name”. Below, we present the special firmware functions that make the new Teltonika EYE Beacon and EYE Sensor products the ideal choice for two important use cases in goods delivery.
Smart functions that make the difference
Proximity events. Via the device configuration of Teltonika GPS trackers, various settings and scenarios can be selected to meet the company's requirements. This allows a vehicle tracker to generate location-based events as well as lost and found events depending on the Bluetooth® signal strength.
The FMB140 can generate proximity events for items depending on the Bluetooth® signal strength of the beacons. This way, the location of each moving beacon or sensor (i.e. of the item concerned) can be determined promptly and accurately and assigned to the “Near” and “Far” zones.
In this way, lists of the tracked delivery items can be created per zone, or targeted event notifications can be triggered. For example, if an item has left all detectable zones (a so-called “Lost” event), the GPS device registers this, determines and stores the coordinates of the last known location and the exact time of the event. All this happens as efficiently as is technically possible and is geared to the company's requirements.
Filtering by name. With this individual filter function, items can be grouped and named by a characteristic or property relevant to operations (e.g. domestic or export shipments, high- or low-priority goods, dangerous goods, damaged goods, etc.). This helps to monitor and control the sorting, storage, loading and unloading of the items concerned and to use the fleet even more efficiently – so costly mistakes can be avoided and time and company resources saved.
In summary: Bluetooth® connectivity is cost-effective, highly energy-efficient and accurate, independent of the network, low-interference, and easy to install and use. Teltonika beacons and sensors with configurable signal strength and configurable transmission intervals can be precisely adapted to customer requirements and integrated into almost any environment of any size and shape. The result is diverse, cost-effective projects, a better reputation, greater competitiveness and a higher return on investment.
System overview
Graphic: Teltonika Telematics
Your benefits
Customisable settings for every project
For maximum benefit, the signal strength and transmission intervals of Teltonika Bluetooth® LE beacons and sensors can be precisely adapted to the requirements of each project, and they can be used in buildings of almost any shape and size.
Precise location and status monitoring of delivery goods
100% traceability of all factors important to the delivery business – goods, valuable assets, processes, workflows and staff actions are tracked, monitored and optimised.
Added value through EYE Beacon and EYE Sensor
Numerous smart and practical event scenarios help to track, monitor, control and optimise goods deliveries particularly efficiently.
Wireless and affordable
Bluetooth® connectivity enables quick installation and setup, is low-interference, power-saving and cost-effective. In the event of damage, loss or theft, the Teltonika accessories can be replaced quickly.
Greater profitability and competitiveness
Considerable cost savings through reduced losses of goods and valuable assets, theft protection to increase profits, improved cash flow as well as investment and expansion opportunities.
Devices used
Devices from Teltonika – available from way4net to buy or rent, bundled with the way4net Portal.
FMB140
Vehicle tracker that reads the signals from the EYE Beacons and EYE Sensors, generates proximity events (“Near”, “Far”, “Lost”) and sends the data with GNSS position to the portal.
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EYE Beacon
Small Bluetooth® beacon on a parcel, box or pallet that transmits a unique ID, enabling the shipment's location to be tracked.
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EYE Sensor
Bluetooth® sensor on the consignment that additionally provides cargo data such as temperature, humidity, magnetic detection and movement.
Learn more →
Note
Content and graphics based on the use case by Teltonika Telematics (original on teltonika-gps.com), translated and adapted for way4net. Device data according to manufacturer specifications. Together, we will work out which devices and functions suit your application – and you can test the solution with a 14-day trial.
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